From Spacebar to Smart Remotes: How Anki Got Its Clicker
By Dan Knight
· Jul 6, 2025
From Spacebar to Smart Remotes: How Anki Got Its Clicker
From Spacebar to Smart Remotes: How Anki Got Its Clicker
Remember when Anki was just you, your laptop, and the trusty spacebar?
Now med students are wielding tiny Bluetooth controllers like they're performing cardiac surgery, clicking through 2,000 cards a day with the precision of a caffeinated robot.
Here's how we went from basic keyboard shortcuts to a $50 million remote control arms race.
"Back in my day…"
In 2006, Damien Elmes dropped Anki on the world with revolutionary spaced repetition algorithms—and the cutting-edge interface of hitting spacebar to flip cards.
Students were thrilled just to have digital flashcards. Nobody was thinking about ergonomics or RSI from 8-hour review sessions.[1]
The keyboard warrior era
Early Anki was all about memorizing shortcuts: 1, 2, 3, 4 for difficulty ratings, spacebar for reveals, Enter for "Good."
Power users discovered you could map presentation clickers to keyboard inputs, but setup required the IT skills of a NASA engineer.[2]
Community hackers enter the chat
By 2015, Glutanimate (the add-on legend) released the first proper Anki Remote for smartphones via Unified Remote.
Suddenly you could launch decks, rate cards, and control media from your phone over WiFi—if you could survive the 47-step setup process.[3]
Gaming controllers crash the party
Around 2020, broke med students discovered the 8BitDo Zero 2—a $20 keychain-sized Bluetooth controller that could handle Anki if you knew the right button combinations.
The AnKing started recommending it, and suddenly every study room had students clicking tiny gaming controllers like they were speed-running Mario.[4]
APIs change everything
The AnkiConnect plugin revolutionized remote development by creating a proper HTTP API on port 8765.
No more keyboard simulation hacks—external apps could talk directly to Anki through clean JSON requests. Developers went wild.[5]
Commercial solutions smell profit
By 2022, startups realized med students would pay premium prices for zero-setup remote solutions.
The Anki Remote 2.0 hit the market at $36, promising instant Bluetooth pairing and dedicated Anki button layouts. 10,000+ students across 158 institutions bought in.[6]
The efficiency claims get wild
Marketing teams started dropping statistics like "94% more cards in 46% less time" with remote controllers.
Whether those numbers are real or not, students were convinced—anything to survive the 4,000-card UWorld + Anki grind.[7]
So what now?
If you're wondering how we got from simple flashcard software to a cottage industry of $20-$100 remote controllers, you're witnessing the natural evolution of medical education optimization.
When students are doing 2,000+ cards daily, every efficiency gain matters—even if it means carrying a tiny gaming controller in your white coat pocket.
The tools evolved because the stakes did. Whether that's progress or just expensive procrastination is up to you to decide.
References
- Elmes, D. "Anki: Spaced Repetition Software." Initial release documentation, October 2006.
- Anki Manual. "Keyboard Shortcuts." docs.ankiweb.net, multiple versions 2006-2015.
- Glutanimate. "Unified Remote for Anki." AnkiWeb add-on release, August 9, 2015.
- The AnKing. "AnKing's Favorite Controller." theanking.com/controller, 2020-2023.
- FooSoft. "AnkiConnect API Documentation." GitHub repository, 2019-present.
- Anki Remote LLC. "Product Statistics: Medical Student Usage." shop.ankiremote.com, 2024.
- Anki Remote. "Performance Study: Review Speed Improvements." Marketing materials, 2023.